Visual art influences and techniques

Although in the gallery scenes in Luke's way of looking, and in the character Luke's own paintings, there are many different styles of art represented, there are no direct references to any existing works of art or artists' styles. For me to have directly copied particular paintings, or used specifically recognisable styles, would have been an infringement of copyright law (even the images of works of long dead artists belong to the estates of those artists, despite legal ownership of the paintings themselves). Hodder, the publisher, looked into the matter before we began the book and it was all looking very complicated, so we decided that the best approach was for me to make oblique references only to various artistic styles. Because of the copyright issue, I haven't appropriated style or technique anywhere; instead I've taken some of the ideas behind various artists' work, and explored these. In the following analysis, where ever I don't list any particular artists or styles in reference to images in the book, it's because there were no specific artists or styles I was being inspired by; my paintings could be reminiscent of any number of styles or periods of art.

The character Luke's first painting - the portrait on page 6 - is a reference to the Cubists, particularly Braque and Picasso, and their ideas of rearranging different planes of perspective into the one plane. (For example, here we see both eyes and ears, which from a side on view would not normally be possible.) Luke's painting was done in coloured pencil. The rest of this spread has been done in pen and ink, with a watercolour wash over the finished work, as has the previous one. I used a permanent black marker for the solid black on Mr Barraclough. Some of the outlines are smudged with graphite to give an etched look. (I have used this technique throughout the pen drawn spreads).

Luke's apple on page 7 was painted with gouache.

The swirling clouds in Luke's painting on page 9 are reminiscent of the way Vincent van Gogh drew clouds. There is also a hint at the Surrealists in the way he has drawn the clock tower. I painted his painting with gouache, watercolour, and Texta. The colour on Luke himself, is watercolour.

There is a hint at the way the Renaissance sculptors composed their work in the huge three-figure piece in front of the art gallery on page 12. I took as my inspiration a work by Bologna, called 'The Rape of the Sabine'. My piece, of course, is not about such a dark subject. The doorway of the gallery has been filled in with Texta, and the colours spilling down the steps are crayon.

The artwork comprising the toaster, kettle and toast rack on the following page, has no influences - entirely my invention, though it could be seen as a reference to the many 'found object' styles which are presently practiced, and go back to the Dadaists. The 'Clarra Bough' piece again makes reference to the Cubists, although the drawing styles of the arm and bird in that painting are a nod in the direction of Brett Whitely. I used Texta and crayon in that work, as these combine to give the look of the oil paint texture often employed by the Cubists. I have, however, used stronger colours than they used to tie the work in with the late 20th century (ie Brett Whitely). The other painting on that same spread, which has been done with acrylic paint, has a number of references to different works by Matisse. The colour of the apples in this work reflect Luke's own painting seen on page 7. Apart from the pen and ink, I have used watercolour and gouache on the rest of this spread.

On the next page ('Luke wondered what Mr B would say...'), the painting immediately behind Luke, which I painted in oil paint, is in a Surrealist style - no one in particular, though Dali comes to mind. There is a Jackson Pollock inspired work, painted with acrylic paint and crayon, beyond the piano piece, which is painted with acrylics. The painting, which sits in the gutter of the spread, has been done with coloured pencil, and the little oval one above it, in watercolour. In the corners of the room are some sculptures reminiscent of Michelangelo's slaves. The woman playing the lute is inspired by the 17th century Dutch painter Vermeer, and has been done with gouache, as has the work above it. The work beyond the minotaur on the far right is inspired by a Mondrian work, and was painted in oil paints (one of the points of genesis for this whole book was a discussion I had with Nadia in which I expressed how much I had been taken by a short story of hers called Listening to Mondrian, from the collection, The night Tolkien died [Random House, 1994]. That's one reason I put that painting in there). The nude is gouache; the minotaur is acrylic, as are the spheres, hand sculpture, and rays of light. All the rest has been done with watercolour.

We know where the painting on the wall behind the counter in the kiosk scene (page 19) comes from, no copyright issues there. There are no particular other influences in this spread. The whole picture has been painted with oil paint.

The next spread (pages 20, 21) is also oil paint, though there is some crayon in the painting which Luke is touching. The work in the foreground has been inspired by the work of Christo (the guy who wraps up buildings etc), and the bird on the bike was inspired by Dr Seuss.

The painting that Luke travels into, as we see it on pages 22, 23, has been painted with oil paint, crayon and watercolour. This picture had the work of Jackson Pollock as its starting point, but could also remind us of many of the schools of abstract painting.

The following spread, Luke on the bus, is oil paint, with a bit of crayon on the top left corner (a spillover of the painting in the previous spread).

Apart from the pen and ink and graphite used on Mr Barraclough on page 29, the rest of the spreads have been painted in oil paint.

Symbolism and themes

Bird imagery

There is much use of bird symbolism throughout the book. In the picture where Mr Barraclough is ranting at Luke for painting a blue apple (page 7), there is a bird seen flying away through the window. This is Luke's spirit being frightened away by Mr Barraclough. The bars on the window are reminiscent of prison bars, as are the bars on the window in the previous spread. When Luke is painting his clock tower (pages 8, 9), there is a bird on the roof gutter outside. His spirit has tentatively come back while he paints. I've deliberately posed a visual conundrum here - is the light that is glowing on his face coming from outside (through the window), or is it emanating from his painting?

Outside the gallery (pages 12, 13), there is a statue of the phoenix rising. There is a human figure as part of this statue (at the back of it, where the wing meets the body). This figure represents a person in torment, and there are what might be seen as crosses in the twisted shapes around the front of the body of the phoenix, representing death (in this case the death of the world as Luke has been taught to see it). The phoenix is struggling to rise from this. Later on, in the bus scene (pages 24, 25), after Luke has had his epiphany, we can see another statue of the phoenix through the bus window. This one is about to triumphantly fly free (notice the bird above Luke's head in the same spread as he talks animatedly to the woman in front of him).

In the first interior gallery scene Luke is standing beside a painting by Clarra Bough. 'Clarra Bough' is an anagram of Barraclough, and the painting is actually an abstracted picture of Mr Barraclough squeezing Luke's spirit (the bird again).

On the following spread the bird imagery appears twice - in the form of the
feather seen as part of the huge sculptural work seen through the archway at the
end of the room, and in the Surrealist painting immediately before Luke. The image in this painting could also be a phoenix. This birdman figure is dancing on a giant egg - the egg representing fertility of mind and spirit - and it is throwing glittering colours over buildings, changing them into something magical (note the unchanged, 'real' city skyline behind the birdman). The feather floating down to the outstretched hand in the sculptural piece is symbolic of Luke' spirit, his creativity, gently floating into his own outstretched hand as he enters this world.

Bird imagery appears three times in the kiosk scene (four if you include the cooked chook!). The bird in the painting seen just above Luke, is a wild pheasant from the Szechwan province in China, called a monal (Lophophorus lhuysi). I chose this particular bird because of its beautiful colours, and it seemed appropriate to use a bird that really exists in the world. It is pecking at some food on the ground, reflecting not only Luke literally eating, but also the spiritual meal he is having through his adventure in the gallery. I used birds thematically in Mrs Millie's painting, which is why there is an image from that book on the wall in this picture (notice the bird in that particular image from Mrs Millie). The emu sitting on the toilet is simply meant to express the idea that reaching for enlightenment can also include one's sense of humour. This is also a reference to the sublime in the ordinary - and in a cheeky way to the wonder of ordinary physical survival. For me one of the most important parts of this particular spread, is Luke's eye. If you follow his gaze (and he looks like he is staring intently at something), he is looking at the emu. His gaze hasn't quite made it to the angel, which is on top of the cistern. For me the angel is a perfect symbol of the union between the person and their free spirit (a combination of the human and the bird), in other words, a symbol of enlightenment. Luke has yet to experience the rest of his adventure in the gallery before he can really 'see' the angel. In the final illustration of the book we see by the symbolism of Luke's shadow that he has 'found' his spirit. Mr Barraclough's shadow has combined with his to make Luke's shadow appear as if it - he - has angel's wings. This of course represents Mr Barraclough's redemption as well (redemption in that he is at last opening up to Luke's way of looking).

The bird on the bike in the spread following ('After lunch.') is again alluding to the humorous, to the absurd. Also, I believe that once one has found the spirit, it is a bit like riding a bike, one can't forget it. There is an alternative to the bird imagery on this spread, in the butterfly emerging from its chrysalis. The hands holding up the chrysalis represent tolerance, an acceptance of difference (seen in the different racial colourings). The edge of the butterfly wing on the extreme right represents flight of the spirit in the same way that the bird imagery elsewhere does.

Where Luke is swinging through the painting, on pages 22, 23, he has come a little closer to finding the angel within him - his shadow has wings.

Back in the schoolyard ('Even school looked..') one of the buildings is in the process of becoming a phoenix. The gargoyles are also taking flight. For Luke, the whole world is freeing up, being reborn. 

Motifs

Apart from bird imagery, there are two other symbolic motifs used throughout the book. One is the motif of the outstretched hand, and the other is that of the shadow. Often the use of shadow has been combined with the bird imagery in a symbolic way (as on pages 22, 23 and 32).

In the opening spread (pages 4, 5), both the shadow and outstretched hand motifs are combined. The shadow of Mr Barraclough's hand is reaching out over the top of the boys, across the 'prison' window - Mr Barraclough has complete control over the boys. All that is, except Luke, who is a little apart from the boys, and whose shadow is rising to meet Mr Barraclough's shadow.

On page 6 ('Every Friday afternoon.') Mr Barraclough reaches out towards Luke, he wishes to control him too, but can't, and so shakes his fist in frustration.

The illustration on page 7 combines shadow - Mr Barraclough's shadow towering above Luke's shadow, threatening - and the outstretched hand, again Mr Barraclough's hand (seen in the shadow) is also threatening.

Luke's shadow on pages 10, 11 is bending, leaning in a submissive way to the shoulder of that of Mr Barraclough, which towers, dominating Luke's shadow. Luke hasn't given in though, as will be seen in other uses of symbolism on this spread (see below, in Other symbolism).

For the first time we see a positive symbol of the outstretched hand in the statue in front of the gallery on page 12. These hands are reaching to the sky, towards freedom (alluding to the symbol of flight).

The very first image we have of Luke (page 5) shows him to be a bit carefree - he is dropping his bag and dashing to join the other boys for a class photo. I drew him this way to show that his spirit is in conflict with Mr Barraclough's way of doing things (all the other boys look subdued, beaten). In all of the following spreads until pages 14, 15, Luke, however, looks pensive, submissive. When he is in the gallery, and a new world is opening up to him, he looks different. For the first time, he is reaching out, unafraid. His pose in the spread on pages 14, 15 mimics that of Mr Barraclough in the abstract painting beside him. There is a difference in the reasons for their similar stances, however, in that Mr Barraclough is reaching up to crush the small bird (Luke's spirit), whereas Luke is reaching out towards his enlightenment. The artwork he is experiencing is about domesticity - all objects and images that Luke will have seen in his everyday life. He is beginning to see that there is richness and beauty even in the ordinary, the everyday. (I tried to give him the quality of a delicate butterfly, unfolding itself for the first time - this idea subsequently gave me the idea of using the butterfly symbolism on page 21).

On pages 16, 17 ('Luke wondered what.here') there are four uses of the outstretched hand motive; one in the surrealist painting, one in the huge hand sculpture with feather, one in the nude painting, and one in the minotaur sculpture. The minotaur is inviting Luke further into the gallery (in the story of the minotaur, when one enters the labyrinth, one never comes back - Luke is entering a world from which there will be no going back for him). I have used light, as the opposite to shadow, in a similarly symbolic way in this spread. The sculptural work of the hand and feather, symbolising Luke's returning spirit, is veiled in an ethereal light. The feather - Luke's creativity - looks as if it has dropped directly out of the light.

The outstretched hand motif appears on pages 20, 21 ('After lunch..to look at'), with Luke reaching up to the painting, and with the hands holding up the chrysalis. Luke, you will have noticed from previous spreads, is left-handed. Here, he is pointing with his right hand. His multi reflected image on the left hand page of this spread makes him appear to be pointing with his left hand. All together, the images of Luke and his reflections, represents his left/right brain thinking as merging - in fact, for Luke all of reality is merging - in the following page he has become one with the painting.

Other symbolism

As well as the use of recurring motifs in the expression of the deeper themes of the book, Luke's awakening to the power of his own creativity, and his relationship to Mr Barraclough are shown through other ways in the illustrations. I began the book in graphite, pen and ink and watercolour wash to create a slightly 'old fashioned' and dull, colourless look - representing the repressed and tightly controlled world of Mr Barraclough. There is symbolism in the media in this respect only - I have tried to retain a looseness of style - a balance between rigidity and flow - that will keep the reader turning the pages. After Luke has entered the world within the art gallery, colour gradually seeps into him as his battered spirit slowly draws energy from what he sees around him. The painting style of the figure of Luke himself, becomes looser after he has entered the gallery, and continues to broaden throughout the book, even after his image no longer has any pen rendering on it at all. I ceased using pen on Luke in the spread on pages 22, 23, as this is the moment in the story when he has finally completely broken free of his former constraints.

On pages 10, 11 ('when Mr Barraclough saw.'), I have posed the two characters as if they are boxers in a fight. Although Luke looks beaten, there is something deep within him that wants to fight. When he is walking towards the gallery (next page), he is cupping the knuckles of one hand in the other, the way fighters do.

As Luke journeys into the gallery, time ceases for him. This is reflected in the sculptural piece involving the piano (page 16, 17 'Luke wondered what. were here'). The clock face in this work has no arms. Time cannot be read here. I have devised this particular piece around music because music is so important in my own life.

Elements of the spread showing Luke racing back into the classroom after his trip to the gallery (pages 28, 29), reflect the now changed nature of the relationship between Luke and Mr Barraclough. Luke is running, but also looks as if he has just kicked a football (which Mr Barraclough has just caught - ie the melon). Luke is now full of confidence and has well and truly booted the ball where he wants it to go!

© 2001 Matt Ottley